By WAFF 48 Digital Staff

DEMOPOLIS, Ala. (WAFF) – A new school in Alabama is opening in response to the lack of healthcare workers across the state.

The Alabama School of Healthcare in Demopolis is recruiting high school students interested in the field.

Students will live in dorms at the school and train alongside healthcare workers.

Graduating students will be ready to join the workforce at any hospital or clinic in the state.

Officials said they are asking the state for $30 million to help combat the growing workforce shortage.

“We want to address the workforce shortage all over Alabama but especially in the rural areas that so desperately need them,” said founding chairman Rob Pearson. “I think that’s the priority and certainly the health outcomes in the rural areas are not as good as they are in urban areas so we’re trying to change that.”

Pearson said if everything goes accordingly, they anticipate their first freshmen class in the fall of 2026.